With low inventories and mortgage rates at a 23-year high, the housing market seems uncertain for buyers. It is tough to try to buy a home, and it seems like this has been the case for a while. Experts, though, say relief is in sight.
Joseph Rivellino, president of the New York State Association of Realtors, says in November, 27,779 units were sold. The average median sales price was also up for the fourth consecutive month at $370,000.
Interest rates dropped though month over month from 7.62% on 30-year fixed rate mortgages in October to 7.44% in November, according to Freddie Mac.
In 2022, a mortgage was 6.81%. In the early 1980s, rates were as high as 17% and 18%.
Closed sales fell 14% in New York from 10,221 in 2022 to 8,820 in November 2023. The number of closed sales decreased for 27 consecutive months.
Rivellino says patience and partnering with the experts in the industry are key.
“First time home buyers, 40% of first-time home buyers don’t really know or understand the process. So, staying involved with your mortgage broker, engaging a realtor in your local market that is an expert in that market, is going to be crucial and key,” Rivellino said. “Because that realtor will help you navigate the process the forms the disclosures all the things necessary to make certain that probably one of the biggest investments of your life is invested properly.”
The National Association of Realtors predicts that the interest on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage will be 6.3% by the fourth quarter of 2024. That would be a catalyst, they say, for 30% of American homeowners to start listing homes and buying others again. So, buyers will have more options.
Rivellino recommends staying on top of your debt-to-income ratio and your credit scores if you may be a home buyer in 2024.
A common denominator, too, is those holding onto their three plus bedroom homes according to Redfin analysis. Twenty-eight percent of those homes are owned by baby boomers, and 14% are owned by millennials with families.